In preparation to the June session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Human Rights House Foundation and the Belarusian Human Rights House have developed and spread a document describing the human rights situation in Belarus.
“We consider the recent repressions and attacks against human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, students and other Belarusian citizens a worrying trend to silence critical voices, amounting to grave violations of fundamental human rights. These events also show that Belarusian authorities are not willing to cooperate with international organisations and to fulfil their own international engagements,” – states the document.
It also informs about the authorities’ pressure on journalists, human rights defenders and lawyers, which set in after the presidential elections on 19 December and significantly increased after the terrorist attack in Minsk metro on 11 April.
The alarming situation for human rights defenders was commented upon too: “We see intensified restrictions of activities of human rights defenders and activists. Human rights defenders are harassed, regularly interrogated, their organisations’ premises and private homes are searched, and warnings are issued against individuals and organisations.”
Expectations
For the preparation to June session of the Human Rights Council of the UN, actions had been taken in order to draw international attention to human rights violation in Belarus.
Anna Gerasimova, the director of the Belarusian Human Rights House in exile in Vilnius took part in joint briefing organised by the EU for “like-minded” countries and attended a meeting with delegations from various regions such as Brazil, Nigeria, Ukraine and others.
These actions are aimed at the adoption of a resolution at the June session. Appointing of a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus is considered essential by the international human rights organisations as the prosecution of political and civic activists, cruel treatment of detainees, searches in human rights organisations continue.
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On 19 December 2010, Belarus held presidential elections. The elections were accompanied by numerous violations of the Electoral Code of Belarus and didn’t comply with the international standards. In the evening dozens of thousands of people protested against the falsification of the elections. The peaceful demonstration was brutally dispersed, more than 700 people were beaten up, arrested, more than 20 people are already sentenced for participation in mass riots. Five out of ten ex-candidates are accused in organisation of mass riots.
Despite international criticism, 
Belarusian judges keep pronouncing harsh sentences for the December 19 protesters. On May 11, Belarus set a sad record: 27 people were tried on accusations of involvement in the 19 December elections protests. Andrei Sannikаu was sentenced to five years hard labour, Dzmitry Us – to 5, 5 years. Mikalai Statkevich, right, was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment.
One of the candidates – Ales Michalevič has announced that he had been subjected to torture in KGB prison. Later, another candidate Andrei Saanikau confirmed his words. Human rights defenders have protested on numerous occasions against such brutal actions of Belarusian authoritites that manifested in repressions against lawyers and journalists as well as mass searches and arrests.
A statement by 45 UN member-states on the situation in Belarus was presented during the session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 14 March. The authors voiced concerns regarding repressions against the political opposition, reports about intimidation of lawyers and torture of prisoners. The Belarusian side responded to the statement with accusations and denial of dialogue.
After the terrorist attack in Minsk president Lukashenka promised to conduct “total cleansing” and ordered to interrogate opposition activists. After that, on April, 19 Pavel Levinau, a human rights defender, member of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and a partner of the Human Rights House in Vilnius was detained on suspicion of his complicity in the terrorist act. The founder of civic compaign “Our Home” Volha Karach, the editor of “Vitsebski courier” Aleh Barshcheuski and Pavel Staneuski were arrested on the same suspicion. However, in the evening of 19 April, the Chief of Frunze district police department informed that Pavel Levinau was arrested for “disorderly conduct”.
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